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Explaining spontaneous occupation: antecedents, contingencies and spaces in the Umbrella Movement
Abstract
This paper examines the antecedent and contingent causes sparking the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. Spurred by two contingent events generating pre-emptive and backlash mobilization, the movement is a spontaneous transformation of the staged Occupy Central campaign. Based on an onsite survey (n = 1681) and in-depth interviews (n = 18), this paper demonstrates how protest experience and social media networked and rallied autonomous individuals from diverse backgrounds to occupy the physical spaces, thereby sustaining a self-mobilized, horizontal and resilient movement. Spontaneity, however, did not come out of nowhere. As an integral part of Hong Kong’s bottom-up activism and ecology, this spontaneous episode encapsulates antecedent events diffusing stalwart actors, decentralized organization and transgressive repertories. This paper situates spontaneity in temporal, spatial and emotional contexts to understand the uncompromising claims and participatory practices of the spectacular occupation.
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“Relatedly, research on the repression-backlash nexus suggests that mobilization after state repression of collective action is often a spontaneous, reflexive response.”
From Coordinated Dis-Coordination (2024) · cites this paper as Cheng and Chan 2017
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Sorted by citations
Solidarity in the Anti-Extradition Bill movement in Hong Kong
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“However, many contemporary protest campaigns are indeed characterized by digitally enabled spontaneous participation and personalized actions (Cheng & Chan, 2017; Lee & Chan, 2018).”
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“More people came onto the street (Tang, 2015), and the campaign was transformed into a more decentralized formation and would become known mainly as the Umbrella Movement (UM) (Cheng & Chan, 2016; Lee & Chan, 2018).”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Cheng, E. W., & Chan, W.-Y.
- Affiliations
- Hong Kong Baptist University (HK)
- Department of Government and Public Administration, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
- Corresponding author
- Cheng, Edmund W.
- ORCID
- Cheng, Edmund W.
- Venue
- Social Movement Studies
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-11-10
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 222-239
- ISSN
- 1474-2829 (ISSN-L)
- 1474-2837
- OpenAlex
- W2549810001
- Cited by
- 124
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 28.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social movement studies (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (UGC/FDS16/H04/14)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics
- Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Latin American socio-political dynamics
- Keywords
- Umbrella Movement, Occupy Central, protest mobilization, social media, horizontal organization, decentralized organizations, Hong Kong protests
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